Konakovic: Croats in BiH enjoy far more rights and positions than they are entitled to under the law

On Wednesday, the final day of its spring session, the Croatian Parliament adopted a Resolution proposed by the Homeland Movement (DP), which, as party president and Parliament Vice President Ivan Penava said, sends a message that "Croatia will not passively observe the outvoting of Croats in the neighboring country". The Resolution was supported by 83 lawmakers, three abstained, and one voted against it. The left-wing opposition did not take part in the vote.

In a statement to FENA, Konakovic announced that a conference on the position of constituent peoples in the BiH institutions, as well as at lower levels of government, will be held in Sarajevo on August 5, in order to adequately respond to the issue raised by political circles in Croatia and parties representing the interests of the Croatian people. He said these parties had reduced the discussion exclusively to the issue of the election of the Croat member of the BiH Presidency, which he considers a completely legal and legitimate topic.

“But we do not want to talk only about that. We want to open a broader discussion on the position of Croats, Bosniaks, and Serbs and present facts that do not support the claims of those who adopted the Resolution in Zagreb today,” Konakovic said.

“Starting with the Council of Ministers of BiH, the Constitutional Court, state agencies, managerial positions... Croats in BiH, and we will demonstrate this at the conference, enjoy far more rights and positions than they are entitled to under the laws of this country, naturally at the expense of the Bosniak people,” he said.

He said that messages from Zagreb claiming that Croats in BiH do not have a protected status as a constituent people are inappropriate and “a very bad thing,” adding that “we will not engage in shouting matches with them or argue excessively.”

“We will show the situation in institutions through numbers,” Konakovic said.

He added that the conference will also discuss the position of Bosniaks in cantons with a Croat majority, as well as the position of Bosniaks, Serbs, and others in city and municipal councils in Croat-majority areas, and draw a comparison with the situation in areas where Bosniaks are the majority.

As an example, he noted that the Statute of the City of Sarajevo stipulates that at least six members of each constituent people and two representatives from the category of Others must sit on the City Council.

“I think those who initiated this topic probably do not know what is actually happening. We will respond adequately and channel this discussion in the right direction,” Konakovic said.

Bosnia's Foreign Affairs Ministry is organizing the event, and Konakovic said that Member of the House of Representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of BiH Semsudin Mehmedovic has been dealing with this issue since the beginning of the current mandate.

“Through his parliamentary initiative, we obtained information that there are 800 fewer Bosniaks employed in BiH institutions than the number they are entitled to. There are many other arguments that will truly show that what the ‘radicals’ and populists in Croatia and BiH are doing is completely senseless and unfounded,” Konaković concluded.